Fate's Little Games
by nox-immortale
Summary: Jack has begun to accept his past and is prepared to face his future, but what will that future hold for him only two people know. One he knows, the other... well, let's just say that it will prove to be a very interesting time amongst the Guardians of Childhood for a very long time. So, who is this mystery person? You'll have to read to find out ;P Oh, yeah, it will be yaoi fyi
1. Chapter 1

So, this idea was just floating around my head and making it impossible to get my work done for school so I figured that I would take the time and write it all out. :) I missed writing a bunch, and I managed to pull out three chapters in about five days, which is a record for me ;P . So, just some generics out-of-the-way, I don't own Rise of the Guardians, cause if I did, I would have made the movie longer to satisfy all of our cravings of the Guardians. This story is just a collection of my own ideas and ramblings. There is a general direction to where this is all going, but there isn't a set outcome yet. I'm just going with the flow on this one :)

Constructive criticism is more than welcome, flames will be read and then allowed to burn in the hell fire from whence it came.

And so, with that, enjoy.

~Nox

* * *

Everything seemed wrong. Everything seemed off. Jack wandered around his lake, holding his head as his life fell apart around him. He didn't feel right, and Jack Frost couldn't figure out why, but Jack, the Guardian of Childhood Fun, wanted to disappear. He wanted to disappear forever... and those thoughts scared the hell out of him.

As the moon rose, Jack felt a little less alone in some ways, but in many ways, he felt drastically more isolated. Sure, the Man in the Moon, or Manny, was a guardian, the guardian who had chosen them all, but he had never given Jack more than a soft light to guide his steps. Manny had brought him out of the lake that he was at, the only home that he had ever known, all those centuries ago, but he was never given any more than a name and his powers. He was cut off from the world to figure out his powers, and to figure out how to handle his new life. It wasn't until Manny had informed the other Guardians, Santa, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, that Jack Frost would be joining their ranks to defeat the notorious Boogeyman, that he had any contact more than a simple encounter with any other spirits, and most of those little meetings ended badly anyway. That was three hundred years after his birth into immortality, three hundred years of being invisible to the world, and three hundred years of being hated. It was a shock to his system, so when Jack learned that he could regain his human memories that Manny had somehow taken from him, Jack decided that it may not be too bad to work with these guys.

After all the problems that Easter, after he screwed up and disappeared, leaving Bunnymund and the others to deal with a horde of Nightmares that attacked the Warren, destroying everything they could. Jack, upon returning, was turned away by the very ones that he had come to count as allies, by the Guardians of Childhood that were rapidly losing their strength and power as children stopped believing in them. Bunnymund was the one to experience this the harshest though, as that very Easter, children walked right through him as though he wasn't even there. It was a very difficult blow to the Guardian of Hope, and one that none of them ever wanted to experience ever again. Jack, however, didn't wait after the Guardians turned their backs on him, telling him to leave, and he flew down to Antarctica where he ran into Pitch, the very one responsible for all the troubles that had befallen their little group. Pitch made an offer for Jack to consider, but Jack, who was starting to understand it all, declined, causing Pitch to punish Jack for refusing. One of Tooth's little mini-fairies, one that had taken a particularly strong attraction to Jack, was clenched in Pitch's ever-tightening fist, as tough demands were made of Jack Frost. The decision... Jack could keep the powers and sacrifice the small fairy, or... Jack could save the Baby Tooth, as she had come to be known, but to do that, he would have to sacrifice his one constant friend that he had throughout the long, lonely centuries... his staff. Seeing no choice, the boy hands his archenemy the source of the powers of winter for the miniature Tooth, but they were both sent flying into a deep crevasse and Pitch snapped the crook in two.

Collapsed at the bottom of the crevasse, all Jack is able to do is look at the memories of his childhood that for some strange reason, Pitch had let him have. Those memories tugged hard at Jack's heart, and he knew what he had to do. Fixing his staff, the young spirit grabbed Baby Tooth and together, they set off to make things right, and while that included a sore leg from a miniature Bunnymund kicking the crap out of him, together, they all managed to fix what had gone wrong. After all was said and done, they had children believing again, even if only a few actually began believing that night, they gradually got children all over the world to believe again.

While each of the other Guardians had children all over the world who truly believed again, Jack had less than ten in the world. It made for an even more difficult life. But over the past few years, Jack had made it work, though, he hadn't seen anyone for that whole time. He was busy spreading winter all over the world, and rarely had time to see the other Guardians, but he did make it a point to see Jamie, the last child to believe in anyone, and the first boy to believe in him in three centuries, at least once a year. It worked to stave off the loneliness for a while, but usually afterwords, Jack felt the sting harder than it ever would have been if he had never met the boy.

Shaking his head as he snapped out of the dark place his thoughts had turned to, Jack Frost knew there was something wrong, but who to turn to, he had no idea. He had yet to see his fellow Guardians in nearly twenty years, Jamie had his family to tend to now, and didn't need a visit from the pesky winter teen, and Manny never gave Jack more than silent company, no matter how many times the boy tried. "Tooth?" Jack began rattling off who he could see and who might be able to help him from his self-deprecating thoughts. "Nah, the girl is too busy, she doesn't really have time to stop and chat. Sandy? Nope, pretty much the same." He sighed, not liking where this was going. "North? That's possible, provided Phil actually let him in the building. Still worth a shot." With that, Jack took off for the North Pole and Santoff Claussen. "Kangaroo? Uh, not unless I can't get a hold of North. I don't need the old Roo getting mad at me. I don't think my mind can take it today."

It didn't take long for the North Winds to take him from his lake outside Burgess to the headquarters of the Guardians. The North Winds actually had taken a liking to the light boy when he became the spirit of the cold season, and would often take him wherever he wanted to go, and as the years went by, he began to let her pick where she would take him. It was a bonding experience that was much like a mother and child, and Jack loved it. He never disrespected her, and she never left him alone when he was hurting. So this time wasn't any different, as she carried him she hugged him in her own special way, and he laughed lightly, talking to her. They had long ago developed their own way of speaking, he would actually speak and laugh aloud and she would control the speed and direction of the air flow to make sounds that Jack could understand. It took a while for them to perfect it, but they had been together for so long, and would most likely be together for much longer still.

As she held him in the air, she grew increasingly concerned over her young charge. "My boy, what has you so sad?" the wind whispered in his ears as it whipped around his lithe body.

"Oh, Wind... I really don't know. I just don't feel like myself. Any ideas?" Jack felt like he wanted to cry as he told her how he was feeling.

"You are more lonely than you let on, my sweet. You hold yourself away from those that you truly need, and you choose to isolate yourself when you need them most. Sweetheart, you need to speak with your friends, they worry about you and want you to be happy, as I do. Do you understand what I tell you?"

"Yes, I understand," he sighed as a small tear trailed down his soft pale cheeks, where it froze almost instantly.

As she carried him further north, the wind kept talking to Jack, explaining all that he had missed. "Every night, dearest, Nicholas St. North stands on a balcony and looks to me and asks me if you are alright. He has done this each night for near twenty years. He is not the only one either. Your friend Bunnymund often ventures into northern territory to speak to me and ask me to find you. Why have you stayed so silent from them?" she whispered to him.

"I don't know, Wind. I just don't understand me. I hoped that being on my own, I would manage to understand who I am and what Manny wants me to do. I really didn't mean to worry them," he apologized, then realized one of the key things that the wind had said. "Wait, Bunny comes looking for me?" That little fact Jack found hard to grasp. The two had a long-standing animosity, and while the events of twenty years ago cooled that a bit and Jack no longer pranked the oversized rabbit, they still didn't really get along. 'So why would the Kangaroo be asking about him?' "How long has Bunny been doing that?" he asked tentatively.

"Since the day you helped Jamie keep believing and you disappeared."

Jack nearly fell from the sky at the shock of that. 'Wow, either the old grump really does care, or he wants to kick me into next millennium for something that I did.'

"Are you alright? If I was not here, you would have fallen far to the ground below. Please, be careful, dearest." Jack could feel the air around him take a deep breath, almost in relief that he was still safe.

"Sorry, Wind," Jack apologized, looking sheepish. "It just startled me that Bunnymund actually cares. I mean, we've never been on great terms with each other." But now that Jack thought about it, he had stopped pranking Bunny after that disastrous Easter, and had no longer tried to freeze over every egg hunt just to make the Pooka agitated. In return, Jack had seen some eggs that Bunny hid that held snowflakes and painted with winter themes, he realized that this had been happening in increasing, and slightly alarming rates to the point where it seemed to consume all the eggs... and in what he could gather from the conversations he managed to eavesdrop on between any of the spirits, Bunny no longer spoke ill of the child spirit of the ice, no, actually, if rumors were to be believed, the rabbit spoke very highly of him in the past twenty years. Jack felt a tug somewhere in the region of his heart at the thought of the Aussie warrior, but he stamped it down before he could analyze it deeper... no, he would do that when he was completely alone.

"Jackson, honey, we are at the workshop," the wind whispered quietly as she lowered him to the steps outside the main entrance where he was directing his landing. Laughing softly, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you going in the front door, or are you going to test Phil's persistence and attempt a break in?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm too tired to try to break in today, and I really need to talk to North. I don't need Phil on my case," he laughed lightly.

The North Winds whipped around him lightly and ruffled his hair causing him to laugh a bit more before she whispered that she would be waiting for his call for a ride back if he needed it.

Thanking her for all that she has done for him as he did each time she helped him, Jack raised his fist and knocked on the great wooden door of Santoff Claussen.

* * *

The calendar was rapidly ticking down the days until he had to do his job. That was the big drawback to only "working" once a year, you had to make it big. With about two weeks, he was in crunch time, though the past twenty years or so had been relatively easy compared to the half-century before that. It started in 1968 when the young winter spirit, Jack Frost, had decided for some reason to make a blizzard which caused the spirit to nearly cancel Easter. Yes, that infamous year had nearly been the downfall of the Easter spirit, the Guardian of Hope, none other than the famous E. Aster Bunnymund, Aussie warrior, master of Tai Chi and six-foot one rabbit.

Looking back at it, Bunny could see why the boy had done it, or at least why he thought the boy had done it. He was looking for attention, looking for someone to talk to, to try to be friends with to try to end his bitterly lonely existence. Too bad it had taken almost three and a half centuries to figure that one out, maybe he and the boy could have avoided the animosity that had plagued them over the years.

"Oh, well, everything in its time, but maybe I can help time move a little faster, mate," Bunny whispered to himself as he sat painting his special eggs. Over the ages, these eggs have changed depending on whatever is hopping through the Pooka's head. For the near twenty years since the defeat of Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, Bunnymund's special eggs have gone from florals and pastels to cool colours and snowflakes. At first, the change worried the rabbit, but over the years, he studied the patterns that Jack Frost made as he brought winter to the world, and he changed the patterns on the eggs to match as best he could to the muse.

Focusing on his work, Bunny dipped the ivory egg into the lightest blue paint he had and then waited just a few moments for it to dry enough for him to paint. Once that happened, he picked up his paintbrush and had begun to add the designs. Adding even more white to the light blue, Bunny began to paint fern like frost illustrations... the same that Jack's staff elicited for the world to enjoy. It had taken many years of study to get these just right, and while the ones that he practiced on were nice to look at, he knew that he couldn't send them into the world, but this year, this year would be different because Bunny would get it right. So the meticulous rabbit began his painstaking work.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! So, this story did so much better than I thought it would! Thank you to my wonderful readers. To those who reviewed under an account name, I responded to you in a PM, but there was a guest review, so I'll respond to that here :)

**Heart: ~I am actually continuing this, and I am updating this because it just takes a couple of clicks while I'm cleaning my room. I'm glad that you enjoyed this, but I don't know about a s****e****quel, as I do not have many set ideas with this story. I have a general idea, but have yet to type more than chapter 3.**

Many thanks for all the favourites, and reviews and the follows! You guys made me cry with your loves. Now, on to necessities... I do not own Rise of the Guardians, nor do I own any of the mythological characters that are stars of this incredible Dreamworks Production.

I love all of you, and would love many, many more notifications :) 3

~Nox

* * *

Jack knocked on the door to the large wooden structure that belonged to the Russian bringer of Christmas and it was instantly pulled open. Standing on the other side was a large yeti who was giving him a questioning look. "Hey, Phil, is North around?"

The yeti said something in his garbled language that Jack pretty well understood as a "What are you doing here?"

"I really need to see him. It's important," Jack said with a small frown tugging at his pale lips. "Please, can I see him?"

Phil stepped back to allow Jack entrance into the building and led him to the office where his boss was busy on new toy designs. Leaving Jack at the door, the yeti returned to his post as guard, wondering why he had let the frozen boy into the workshop.

Jack took a deep breath and opened the door without knocking. Unfortunately, when he did, he accidentally smashed into an icy prototype that was zipping around the room.

A cry met his ears and then a shout. "How many times must I tell you knock?" North yelled without actually looking up to see who it was at the door. Jack had caught a glimpse of what the toy was before it had smashed the door, so he pointed his staff at the pieces and repaired it before the old man could yell some more. Leaning on his staff, Jack watched as North's eyes widened at what he had just seen. "Only one man can do that." North said softly, turning around. "Jack Frost!"

Barely having enough time to register what North was doing, the man was across the room to the door and had picked the teenaged spirit up off the ground in a crushing hug. Gasping for breath, Jack awkwardly patted the older man's shoulder. "Heya, North. It's good to see you, too. Mind putting me down though?"

"Oh, sorry, my boy," he chuckled, placing Jack back onto his bare feet. Walking back over to the prototype still on the floor, Nicholas St. North bent over to pick it up and examine it. "Good job on repair. So what can Santa do for Jack Frost?" he asked sitting down behind the big antique wooden desk that was covered in toys and blocks of ice.

"I'm not really sure. I just feel weird. Every time that I sit down and relax, I let my mind wander, but then I start thinking really weird things. Some of it is nice, but then some of it is confusing. Don't ask me what it is because I'm not gonna say," Jack said looking at North, who looked like he was going to ask a question. "It's nothing bad, I don't think, but it's kind of embarrassing. They're just thoughts right?" Jack turned around to face the older man, "I just don't understand it. These thoughts make me feel weird things, things I've never felt before." The boy slumped down in the chair across from where his friend was sitting and looked at him with pleading eyes, eyes that asked for help from the man he looked up to.

"Alright, Jack. You ask me for help, I help. What do you feel that is not weird?" The old man looked at the child expectantly.

"I don't understand."

"You say you feel weird. I ask what else."

"Well, my stomach ties up in knots, and my heart feels like it will jump out of my chest." Jack whispered, not looking at North sitting across the table. "It gets hard to breathe and my throat feels like it's closed." He took a deep breath before continuing, finally looking up to meet the blue eyes of the Guardian of Wonder. "I don't understand why I feel this way, North. What do I do?"

Nicholas St. North was quiet for a moment, studiously watching his young friend. Looking even closer, he could tell that Jack was thinking about whatever had him feeling this way, and North could just see the faintest tint of blush creeping up on the boy's cheeks. Ah, so that's what it is, the jolly man thought. "Well, my boy, you think of someone when you think thoughts like this?" Jack nodded slightly, and North continued. "Cupid's arrows have hit you hard, yes. You are in love!" The old man beamed at this thought. Maybe the child would finally be happy, North mused.

Jack Frost looked panic stricken at this latest revelation. "Wh-what? How could that be? How could I be in l..." he stopped and took a breath before finishing that thought. "How could I be in love? How can you tell?" It didn't make sense; he couldn't be in love... not with... Jack's thoughts continued to stray towards dangerous territory, before North's voice sounded again.

Smiling, North remembered many centuries ago when he felt the exact same way as Jack, and he remembered the having this same conversation with his own father. "Because, Jack, I felt the same way as you once." At the shocked expression on the boy's face, North couldn't help but laugh heartily. "Yes, I was in love once. She was amazing, and she was my world. I would do anything for her." His eyes glassed over as he was absorbed in his memories.

"Did she die?" Jack asked quietly.

North was startled at the question. "Hmm? No, she didn't die," he chuckled lightly as a bemused look came over the winter spirit. "No, my wife is alive; she is an immortal like us because I asked Manny. I told him that I could not live without her, so he made her immortal as well." He smiled softly before asking, "Would you like to meet her?" Jack nodded slowly, unsure what he was getting himself into and followed the large Russian from the workshop.

As Jack was led through the workshop to a part of the home that he hadn't ever been in, he couldn't help looking around. Deep in the heart of the North Pole at Santa's workshop were so many things that Jack had never seen. Suddenly, Jack stopped at the door to a long room lined floor to ceiling with small cubbies. Walking slowly into the room, Jack noticed that there were all sorts of old toys neatly placed on the shelves. "What's this, North?"

A small laugh sounded behind him, but it wasn't the jolly Russian that he was expecting, but rather a female. "What does it look like, Jackson Frost?" she asked.

Jack spun around quickly and looked at her. They were right about the same height and he looked straight into her brown eyes that looked at him softly. This must be Mrs. St. North, Jack wondered. "Well, they look like old toys. Am I right?"

"Very good, Jack. These are Nicholas' biggest hits over the years. As the children fall in love with the toys, he puts the ones that do the best in here. His crown jewels, if you will," she laughed lightly. "Don't look so surprised, dear, I know who you are. Nicholas has spoken very highly of you for years, as have your other friends."

At those words, Jack raised his eyebrows at her and then let his head droop with a sigh. "The others probably are angry with me for avoiding them for all these years, aren't they?" Jack felt his throat clog with unshed tears. "They probably hate me."

"They don't hate you, Jack. They worry about you. Sanderson looks for you every night. He searches for your dreams."

"I don't sleep. I... I can't," the boy stammered out.

The woman looked deep into the boy's icy blue eyes. In them, she knew exactly what he was talking about. He doesn't sleep because of nightmares. Oh, dear... She wanted to pull him close and hold him, to tell him that everything was going to be alright, and to love him like he needed. "Toothiana flits about on her rounds trying to find any clues as to where you were, and Aster... well, he is up here walking in the snow every day looking for anything, always talking to the North Winds. He always asks the same questions: 'Is he alive?' 'Is he safe?' 'Is he healthy?' 'Is he happy?'" She watched the child's face as those words sunk in, penetrating the stupor that the recollection of nightmares brought. His eyes darted back up to the woman's face, wide and extremely childlike.

"He's asked that?" Jack couldn't believe it.

"He and Nicholas both. Each day they ask her about you. It's the only thing that has kept Aster doing his job and not going out searching for you himself. He never visits anymore, keeps to himself. I worry about him." Looking off into the distance, she whispered, "he's always so alone. He told me once, a long time ago, perhaps 70 years or so ago, that one of the only things that got him through the days was trying to figure out what tricks were going to be played on him next." She turned to look straight at Jack, "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

All Jack could do was nod. So the old kangaroo enjoyed the pranks? Or at least enjoyed the break in the monotony of them. "Why?" was all he could ask, he was so lost in his own thoughts.

A voice from behind him decided to take over the explanation. "Bunny is last of his kind. Pitch killed them all many centuries ago. It hurts him to talk about it, but that is all I will tell you. Bunny must say if he wants you to know more," North said finally speaking up.

Jack was shocked into silence as this new information sunk in. Bunny was really alone... he had nobody. But Jack's tricks helped him? He always seemed like he hated them. "Bunny always seemed like he hated my pranks," Jack wondered aloud.

North's booming laughter filled the room. "Oh, he did. But they were something to look forward to, something to look out for, something to take his mind off of being alone. That doesn't mean that he liked them, they just kept him on his toes."

"Oh."

"Jack, sweetie, you must understand, we, the guardians, are Aster's family, but he only lets us in so far. But with the events of the past couple of decades, maybe he'll let you in a little more," she said, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Please, Jackson. Will you speak with Aster?"

The young winter spirit looked at the St. Norths long and hard. "I'll speak with him after Easter. Let him get through the holiday without ghosts of the past showing up. Don't tell him I've come back yet, I'll tell them each when I'm ready. But yeah, I'll talk to the big kangaroo." Jack pulled out his signature smile that made Tooth and her minis faint each time. "And don't worry, the old roo won't know what hit him, but I'll let you in on it. I think a snowball to the nose would be fitting," he cackled with laughter at the thought of the rabbit's face covered in snow. "Mrs. North?" he asked after his laughter died down.

The woman turned slightly with a smile, "Oh, Jack, please, it's Marie. What is it, dear?"

"When I left twenty years ago, did any of them say that they would miss me?"

"Each and every one of them said that. I was the one who told them to let you have space to sort out whatever it is that had you running from us. Will you forgive me of that?"

"Of course. I needed the space to figure out who I was, and who I am. It was a bit traumatizing to handle the memories, but I needed to do it on my own. Thank you for letting them know that I needed to be alone." Jack leaned over to Marie and gave her a hug. It was one of the first hugs that he had received in a very long time and Jack nearly lost it.

"Good. Come, you can help me make dinner and tell us about your adventures and where you have been for so long." Marie grabbed his hand and led him through to the kitchen where the Norths and Jack Frost began to make a family meal.

* * *

Bunny was exhausted. He had managed to get all the baskets made and all of the chocolate was finished, but the thing that he was most proud of was a little egg that was covered in fern like frost designs very reminiscent of a certain winter spirit's artwork. He decided that this egg was too special to put out on Easter, so he decided that he would make it into an egg warrior. Using some of his magic, the little egg stood up and bowed as all of the warriors did. "I'll name you Fern, after your designs." The egg bowed again. "You're dismissed. Report to Tuli and Blade for your duties."

Bunny stood up and stretched, his six foot tall muscular frame rippling with power and strength, and looked up to the dark sky where the moon was shining. Not even bothering to ask what had become of the young guardian that had been missing for the last twenty years, Bunny allowed his shoulders to slump and his ears to droop. Over the years, Bunny had realized just how much the teen spirit meant to him over the centuries. Sure, the pranks were never really fun at the time, but the only one that was real damaging was the Blizzard of '68, but nothing detrimental came from it. Jack always made sure that Bunny was never hurt and that no children stopped believing in him, so all of the pranks were for attention, and after everything that the oversized rabbit had learned the young spirit had gone through, he couldn't blame the kid.

However, like most, Bunnymund didn't realize what he had until it was gone, and now? Bunny had a hard time facing his life on his own. The pranks had helped get him through the years because they kept him on his guard. They gave him something to look forward to. They broke the day to day monotony of his life. It was interesting to catch himself thinking this way, but it was true, and he was tired of being the tough guy when he realized that he wasn't. He was a lonely rabbit, the last of the Pooka species, and with the disappearance of Jack Frost, that loneliness slapped him hard in the face.

Walking into his burrow, Bunny washed his paws of the paint from the eggs of the day and grabbed some carrots and lettuce to eat. Not wanting to continue thinking of the past, he looked at his Globe of Belief and decided to check on some of the people who believed in the Easter Bunny. A group of small lights in a very familiar town... Burgess, Virginia. Bunny remembered the adventure that had occurred just after Easter twenty years ago. Pitch had nearly won, until one little light made itself known. The last child who believed in any of the Guardians was the older brother of the tiny girl who had broken into the Warren that very same year... Jamie and Sophie Bennett. That was a hard year for all of them, with Jack being the scapegoat for Bunny's distress when the rabbit was walked through as if he wasn't even there. So when Jack came out of the Bennett's house with young Jamie, everyone was surprised, and when Jamie called Bunny "cute," the little shrunken rabbit saw red and jumped at Jack, kicking his legs thinking that he put the kid up to saying that. However, when Jamie told Bunny that it was Jack that kept his belief in the Easter Bunny alive, well, the Pooka's red haze turned into a blurry blue as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. That was when he felt his attitude change towards the child spirit. That change had continued manifesting over the years to where it was today. He couldn't think about Jack Frost without his ears folding back and his eyes shifting. The rabbit's heart would flutter and his stomach felt like a bird cage. It didn't make much sense, but being the last of his kind, he wasn't going to question something that he never thought he would feel.

Now looking back at his globe, Bunny saw Jamie with his family, and felt his whiskers twitch as his lips turned up in a smile.

"_Daddy, how long until Easter?" a small child asked his father._

_Jamie Bennett, now twenty-nine years old, chuckled as he tucked his son into bed. "Not long now, E.B. The Easter Bunny will bring you a bunch of candy and eggs that you have to find." Jamie smiled at the boy, who was now four years old and old enough to hear the story. "You want to hear a story?"_

"_Yeah! Please?" The boy looked up at his father with big brown eyes._

"_Okay, well, did you know that I know the Easter Bunny?" The child shook his head. "Well, when I was a little older than you, I actually met him. He, and his friends, Santa Claus, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman, were all working together to stop the Boogeyman from taking over the world. I was the last child to believe and they were protecting me from the Boogeyman, whose name is Pitch. Together, we, and a bunch of my friends at the time, defeated Pitch and watched Jack become a Guardian. Do you remember meeting Uncle Jack a couple of months ago?" E.B. nodded, and Jamie continued his story, "well, Jack made this huge ice slide right through town that we all rode on to get away from Pitch."_

"_Were you scared?"_

"_Yeah, I was. Everyone was."_

"_Even the Easter Bunny?"_

"_Even the Easter Bunny. Although, if you see him, he'll probably say that he wasn't. He was little at the time because too many children had stopped believing in him, but that's all better now."_

_"Because of you, Daddy," E.B. shouted, jumping into his father's arms._

"_I suppose so, but I'd say that the real hero was your Uncle Jack. He made sure that I still believed." _

_The small child's eyes went wide, and his mouth hung open. "You almost stopped believing?"_

_Jamie's brown eyes filled with sadness, as he remembered. "Yeah, I almost did. You know your rabbit, well, that used to be mine. I was sitting on my bed, yelling that I wanted to believe, but that I needed proof that I wasn't crazy." Jamie picked up the toy that they were talking about. "When nothing happened, I threw the rabbit across the room, and as I ran over to pick it up and apologize to the toy, I saw a light flickering from my window. I looked over and there was frost covering the whole window. Now, it wasn't odd to see the frost in general, but what was weird was that an egg magically was drawn in the frost. All I could do was stare at it, and then a little fluffy bunny was drawn underneath it. What was really cool was that the bunny came to life and started hopping around in the air in my room."_

_I just laughed, watching it play, but then... snow started falling in my room. 'Jack Frost...' I whispered. I heard someone behind me say 'Did he just say...' and I said it again. 'Jack Frost?' And the voice responded, 'He did! He said it again. He said my name.' I turned around and my mouth fell open because there was your Uncle Jack standing there. He walked up to me and asked 'Can you hear me?' I nodded. 'Can you see me?' I nodded again. The look on Uncle Jack's face was the happiest I had ever seen. Then he started talking about a sledding accident that I had had a couple of days before that. That's when I found out that the reason I had lost my tooth to the sofa that had hit me, was because Jack made this huge ice track."_

_At this, E.B. had to interrupt his father. "Do you think Uncle Jack can make me a sledding track?"_

"_You'll have to ask when you see him next year. It's too warm now for him to come make snow, you'll have to wait until winter time comes again." Jamie hugged the boy who was still in his lap where he had jumped earlier in the story. "Well, so, Uncle Jack told me that they were all real!" He began tickling the boy to emphasize the point. "All of them, Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, him, and all the other ones that people talked about... they are all real! As we were talking about it, something outside caught your Uncle Jack's eye. A sleigh with reindeer went across the moon and then crashed right outside the house. The others had all come to find me and protect me, to make sure that I still believed. We met them outside and they were all so sad, the children of the world had stopped believing and it affected them badly. But the one who was affected the most was the Easter Bunny. Normally, he is taller than your Uncle Jack, the Easter Bunny is six foot tall and is really good at fighting, but he was the size of Tinsel."_

_E.B. scrambled off Jamie's lap and ran over to the corner of his room where a small fenced in area sat. A little bunny hopped around in it and the boy was stunned. "But Tinsel is so small. I don't get it." _

"_When the children stopped believing, the Easter Bunny lost a lot of his powers, and it made him into a tiny bunny. I made the mistake of calling him "cute," and he jumped off the sleigh and ran up to Uncle Jack, asking if he wanted to fight and then he did a bunch of fast little kicks to Jack's leg. I told him that it was because of Jack that I still believed, and, will you get this, E.B.? The rabbit nearly started crying!" Jamie had crossed the room and picked up his small son and carried him over to his bed. Placing the boy on the soft mattress and tucking him in gently, Jamie continued. "Then Pitch showed up, and I was really scared, but Uncle Jack knew what to do. He knelt down and looked me in the eyes and said 'We're gonna have some fun.' I knew then that I would be okay, and when Uncle Jack hit Pitch with a snowball, we all escaped on the track that he made. We beat Pitch that night, and all the children began believing in all the Guardians again." Jamie leaned over and kissed E.B. on the forehead and whispered in his ear, "I want you to make me a promise... I want you to promise that you will never stop believing in the Guardians. They have done so much for our world, for the children, and if you keep believing, you will always keep what they represent... hope, wonder, dreams, memories and fun. You understand?"_

"_Yes, Daddy. Goodnight. I love you," E.B. hugged his dad and gave him a kiss before lying down and going to sleep._

"_I love you, too, Ethyn Bristol. Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning." As Jamie turned to leave, he flipped on the nightlight that he had given his son after a particularly nasty group of nightmares when he was two. Turning out the main light, he noticed his little sister, Sophie, standing in the doorway. "Hey, how long were you there, Soph?"_

_She smirked at her older brother. "For the whole story. That was always my favourite one. Each time I hear it, all I can think is 'Easter Bunny, hop, hop, hop!' Jack decided to remind me of that one when he came to visit last, cause E.B. decided to ask about the Easter Bunny. Jack was surprisingly well behaved when he was talking about him and it made me smile." She sighed softly. Even after all these years, I still remember every Easter that Bunny would bring eggs. It'll be nice to see him put those down again for E.B."_

_Jamie knew what she meant. Sophie was a widow, her husband having just passed away about three days before she found out that she was pregnant with her first child, a little girl, but she wouldn't be born before Easter, so when Jamie's wife had left a couple of months ago, and Jamie moved him and his son into the house with Sophie again, she was excited to see her favourite Guardian again. "You need sleep, Sophie, it's late, and unfortunately we both have to work tomorrow. Bed." He grinned at her and kissed her cheek._

"_Shesh, alright, alright, Jamie, I'm going." Sophie's laughter rang out clearly as she turned to go to her room. "Goodnight, Jamie."_

"_Goodnight, Sophie. I'll see you tomorrow," Jamie said softly to his baby sister, before retreating into his own room for the night._

_Once Sophie was in her own room, she released a single tear as she thought of the memories she had of her favourite Guardian. "Goodnight, Bunny... wherever you are. I hope I'll be able to see you again." _

With that, the scene went dark and Bunnymund smiled at the memories of the two children that had quickly become the favourites of all the Guardians. Raising a large paw to his face, the rabbit realized that he had been crying as he had watched, and then he made sure that he would give young Ethyn Bristol Bennett the best Easter ever. Bunny looked at his route and figured out a way to make Burgess the last stop that he made, that way, he could personally observe the four year old's big Easter egg hunt. It would be perfect... for E.B... for Jamie... and for his li'l ankle bitter, Sophie... he'd make sure of it.

* * *

So, in the summary, I asked if anyone wanted to venture a guess as to who the mystery person is... Anyone want to play a guessing game? xD either way, they show up next chapter, so bear with me. I said earlier that there is really no particular direction that this is going, I just started writing cause I didn't want to do my finals, so just go with it, and I'll do my best not to disappoint.

And if anyone has any suggestions or ideas that they would like to see play sometime out in this story, or possibly another story (I have four more stories that I am working on getting off the ground for Rise of the Guardians) just review or send me a PM

Always and forever,

~Nox


	3. Chapter 3

_I am so intensely sorry that this chapter was not up on Saturday as I had hoped. I wound up spending much of the night in the hospital with my meme due to an asthma attack induced by a cold. That and I found out that I had dropped my GPA from 2.640 to a 1.830_ **(EDIT: ****just checked GPA is at 2.14 currently, but I'm still missing 2 grades)**..._ so I'm not too happy about that, however, until January when I go back to school, there is nothing that I can do about it. So, enough about how my life has fallen apart in the past couple of days, my meme is alright and just came home today, and the GPA... well, I'm working on that one. Oh, yeah, and my sister ( ballerina-13 ) and I just got back from my second, her third, viewing of Rise of the Guardians! :)_

_But, on a happy note, thank you so much to my wonderful readers! I'm so glad that you enjoy it and I'm working on the next couple of chapters pretty well right after I post this. So, without further ado, I bid you read on, but just remember that this story belongs to Dreamworks and William Joyce!_

* * *

As the three made their way into the kitchen, North filled in a bunch of things that Jack had missed. Tooth had to make six new towers in twenty years to handle the amount of children in the world, and she and Sandy were busy as always. Bunny would only show up when he was called or on Easter Sunday, but other than that, nobody knew what he was up to. It was slightly depressing for Jack to hear that, but he filed the information away to examine later.

"So, what have you been up to, North?"

The old man's eyes twinkled slightly. "Dealing with elves is almost like dealing with your tricks." He laughed as Jack smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. "But is no matter. What have you done?"

Jack took a deep breath and looked at the man that, in the last twenty years, he regarded as a father. Now that he thought about it, they all seemed like family... Tooth, the older sister that constantly fretted over him, Sandy, the protective older brother, even Marie, North's wife, could be seen as a mother. The only one that Jack couldn't figure out a roll in the family for was Bunny, and it didn't really make much sense, but he didn't dwell on it too much. "Well, the night right after we defeated Pitch, I took a look at the rest of my memories. I needed to know about who I was, however, some of the things that I saw, I couldn't handle around everyone. It wasn't winter so I flew to Antarctica for a while. I would come back and spread winter, and visit Jamie and Sophie, staying at my lake so that it stayed frozen all year, but in my off season, I stayed at the South Pole. It was a bit lonely, but it was the only place that I could be sure to be completely alone. I needed to be alone without anyone telling me how to interpret those memories, and so that I could figure out how I felt about them."

"I won't ask about them, but how do you feel about them?"

Jack looked away. "I am alright. There are a lot of them that I'm not happy with how I handled them back then, but there are some that I'm okay with. Like the one where I saved my sister."

North knew that he had saved her, but he had never heard Jack talk about it. "Tell me, Jack. Please?"

"We had decided to go ice skating one day, and we didn't realize that the ice wasn't thick enough. All of a sudden, she looked up at me and her eyes were big and scared. The ice had started cracking beneath her skates, so I slipped my skates off while trying to keep her calm. I talked to her and she was crying and shaking, but I decided to start a game of hopscotch. She watched as I hopped towards my staff, then it was her turn. As she made her way over to where I was, I was prepared. With her final step she was just in range for me to grab her and fling her off the ice. I was so worried that I didn't even care if when she landed that she got bruised and banged up, I just didn't want her falling in. But..." Jack stopped and took a few seconds to compose himself. "But I miscalculated her weight, so I used too much force. I flung her off the ice, but wound up throwing myself onto it. Next thing I knew, I watched her face go from happy that she was safe, to complete horror as I fell through the ice." Jack looked up into the face of the embodiment of wonder. "When I first saw this memory, I was so happy that I had a sister, that I had overlooked one thing." The older man looked at him, waiting for him to go on. "I didn't know her name. So when I looked at all of my memories, I saw the one where my parents showed me that I had a sister. They said that her name was Emma. Part of the reason that I went to Antarctica was to mourn for their loss, and to grieve that I wasn't there to help my family through the years because I had died. I needed that time by myself because I was a mess. The empty continent is a safe place for me to let loose my emotions and not endanger anyone. I think I cried and screamed and mourned for about two years. Only leaving to bring winter and visit Jamie a couple of times. After those couple of years, I began to piece everything else together. I looked at some of my other memories, and was able to handle them better, and by the time that I knew it, I was healing. I looked at the three hundred years after my birth as Jack Frost, and realized that I was not the easiest or most forgiving spirit to live with, especially for Bunny, but I needed to be alone to make sure that I wasn't influenced in how I was thinking about the memories or I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I noticed though, that a couple of times, Sandy would reach out to me as he did he rounds, but it was me that would pull away. I'm sorry that I blamed all of you for abandoning me."

At those words, tears finally spilled from the boy's eyes, and it was times like this that North was reminded that even though Jack was almost 350 years old, he was still a child in more ways than one. It was also this knowledge that made it hard for him to turn his back on the boy again. Jack was only eighteen when he had died all those centuries ago in the colony of Burgess, and his body and mind had frozen at that age. North vowed that he would never let the boy feel the overwhelming loneliness that had been his fate for that time. "Of course we forgive. You are family, never forget."

Jack's eyes lit up and he jumped into North's arms and just let himself be held for the first time in many, many years. North was all too happy to oblige and he held the boy tightly and stroked his large hand in comforting circles over the blue hoodie that Jack always wore. "Is alright. Is alright."

Marie walked out of the kitchen where she had gone in when the boys had started talking. "Nicholas, bring Jack in here, I think there is someone that he'll want to meet."

North nodded and carried the winter spirit into the kitchen where his wife was making dinner and he sees who Marie was talking about. Standing at stove, helping to make dinner was a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Hearing the large Cossack enter the room, she grinned.

"Hello, Papa. Who's that?"

"Hello, sweetie. This is Jack Frost," North explained, setting the teenager down.

Jack was a little confused, but he rubbed his eyes to make sure they were clear before looking to where the sound of a young girl was. He blinked. Shutting and reopening his eyes, she was still standing there, so either Sandy had given him an amazing dream, which was weird, since he hadn't slept in twenty years, or she was really standing there.

Rubbing her hands on the apron she was wearing, the girl quietly approached him and held out her hand with a smile. "Hi, I'm -"

"Emma," Jack breathed.

"Yes. How did you know?" she asked, truly surprised.

He chuckled and rubbed his hand on the back of his head a little sheepishly. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Emma walked up a little closer and looked at the face of the teenage boy staring at her. "You look familiar, but it couldn't be, I had seen him die." She shook her head to clear the awful thoughts threatening to fill her mind. "You remind me of my big brother. His name was Jack, too."

Jack Frost nodded. "He had brown hair, and brown eyes, just like you. You told him that he always played tricks, but he knew that you loved to play hopscotch." He held up the staff that was still in his hand, and Emma gasped at the shape, as well as the words. "On the day your brother died, you and he were ice skating, but the ice was too thin and it started to crack. You said that you were scared, and he said that you two were gonna play hopscotch. He grabbed the staff at the end of his turn, and then at the end of yours, he caught you in the staff and threw you off the ice." Jack's voice choked a bit, but he pressed on. "When you hit the ground away from where it cracked, your brother was thrown onto the part he had just saved you from. The impact from his weight broke the ice and he fell into the freezing water."

When Jack had finished the story, he looked into Emma's eyes, and he saw the flicker of recognition. "Jack!" She jumped into his arms and just buried her face into the crook of his neck and sobbed. She never thought she would see him again, yet here he was, standing in front of her in the home that she had come to love with a new family. Still in her big brother's arms, she just whispered his name like a mantra, almost as if she stopped saying it, he would disappear from her again.

Jack heard her whispering his name through the tears and he lifted her off the ground, spinning in circles. "It's alright, Emma. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere. Never again. I promise." He just held her and whispered softly into her hair. "I promise, I'm not gonna leave you again. I promise. I'm so sorry that I left you in the first place, Emma... can you forgive me?"

The young girl pulled back from her brother's arms so fast, that Jack wasn't sure if he had ever actually been holding her. "Of course, I forgive you, silly. Why wouldn't I?"

Looking down at his feet, Jack looked sheepish. "I died and left you guys. I have no clue what happened after that, I had no clue who I was... Manny took away all my memories, so I didn't have any idea who I had been... who you were... I feel guilty that I forgot and never checked up on you guys." Tears slid silently down the boy's cheeks creating frozen tear trails.

A small hand reached up to brush them away. "Jack," she waited. "Jack, look at me." With her hand on his chin, Emma gently made her brother look her in the eyes. "We did alright. Sit, and as I finish dinner, I'll tell you what happened."

He did as he was told and sat next to North at the counter, while Marie and Emma finished making dinner. Every couple of minutes, Emma would turn and explain things to him and answer his questions about their family.

"How old where you? When you died, I mean," Jack asked quietly.

"I was sixteen."

"How did it happen?"

"A bunch of children and I were picking berries for snacks in the woods when we were attacked." Seeing that her brother was getting ready to interrupt again, she quickly held up her hand to stop him. "We were surrounded and before I knew it, the boys were all shot and the girls and I were being brought to where they were gonna keep us. I was the oldest in the group, so I was the one that the children were looking to for protection. I decided to make a deal with the men that were holding us captive. The would let all of the children go, and they would be escorted back to town, with me watching to make sure that they all got there alright, and then I would accompany them back and they could do what they wanted with me."

Jack felt his blood beginning to boil with the thought of his baby sister in some murderers hands, but he controlled his temper. Wouldn't do any good to scare his sister now, just after he got her back.

"So we all went to our colony and the children were released and I was escorted back to the camp." She turned to her brother and noticed that he looked capable of murder. "Oh, they didn't do anything. They kept me around to cook their food and stuff like that, but then Father came too close to finding where they were hiding. So they killed me and ran, leaving my body there. Manny saw me and made me a spirit, but I'm not a Guardian, yet."

"Where they Indians?"

Emma shook her head, "No, they were men from the next colony over. They were on a trip to discover what was around to try and expand on their colony. They found us and that was it."

"What are you the spirit of?"

"Oh, Jack, I'm not going to tell you that one. You're just going to have to wait and figure that one out for yourself." Emma giggled at the shocked look on Jack's face.

"Seriously, Emma?" he laughed, causing her to grin.

"Okay, kids," Marie interrupted before they could continue. "Dinner's ready. Emma, sweetie, can you set the table? Jack, can you help me with the plates?"

"Okay, Mama," Emma said.

"Alright, no problem."

So, as the new family sat down to eat dinner, North finally spoke up about something that he had discovered about Jamie Bennett. "So, Jack, I found something on Jamie and Sophie the day before last." The teen looked up from his food with a raised eyebrow. "They are related to you and Emma."

The two children looked across the table at one another and Jack turned to North. "How is that possible if I didn't have any children before I died. Did you, Emma?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't, but we actually had a baby brother."

Jack didn't think he could get any more surprises, he spluttered. "A baby brother? What was his name? What was he like? How old was he when you died? What happened to him?" His mind reeled with questions for his little sister and their placebo family.

"His name was Aaron, and he was four when I died. He was a lot like you in so many ways. He loved sneaking up on me and scaring me. As far as I know, he grew up well and married a young woman and they had four children... three boys, one girl. Am I right, Papa?" she asked, turning to the man sitting at the head of the table.

He nodded, "You are right, Emma. Aaron's second son, Lucas, is Jamie and Sophie's ancestor. They do not know, but I think you should tell them, Jack. It would help ease their minds."

Marie spoke up at this, "Sophie is worried about her baby, and with her just losing her husband recently, that worry is amplified. Jamie is trying to be strong for her and his son, but he is even beginning to lose faith in what he once held dear. Jamie lost his job two weeks ago, but has been doing his best to cover it up, but Sophie knows that something is wrong and E.B. is slowly realizing that his life is falling apart. Jack, those three have nothing left in Burgess. I want you to bring them here after Easter. They will keep the house for whenever they wish to visit friends and take a vacation, but their family is here, I want them to have that."

Jack nodded. "Alright, I'll go let Jamie know after dinner that he needs to start packing the house."

With that, they finished their dinner and Jack took off out the window in search of his best friend.

* * *

_Sorry that Bunny wasn't in this chapter, but it is for the good of the story, trust me. Please, review so that I can get better and make you happy. The only one who even ventured a guess was _ballerina-13 _but she doesn't really count cause I live with her... and I was explaining a portion of the story to her at the movies this afternoon._

_Well, here is an update for you all! And I am working on a Christmas one-shot for you all as a present, but in case I don't get that to where I'm happy, Happy Christmas to those who celebrate that, Blessed Yule (late) to those of you (like myself) who celebrate that, Happy Chanukah to those of you (like my brother) who celebrate that, and Happy Kwanza (early) to those who celebrate that! and to any religions that have been forgotten, you have my sincerest apologies and my deepest regrets... I just don't know what everyone celebrates. Anyway, happy holidays and I hope to get that one-shot out tonight.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so I told you I'm not dead... sorry this took so long to get up, but I went back to school and am dealing with 19 credits that I have to keep straight. So I'll be working on these slowly but surely, and I will do my best to start getting into a good schedule. I apologize that Bunny wasn't in the last chapter nor is he in this chapter, but hopefully he will be in a couple afterwards. Everyone else will slowly start making appearances too.

But now, on with the chapter, and I don't own Rise of the Guardians...

* * *

Jack's return trip to Burgess was a much happier one than earlier and the North Winds couldn't help but notice this. As she carried him closer to his destination, the curiosity that she had got the better of her and she found herself asking why he was in such a sudden good mood.

"I have a family!"

"You have always had a family, what is so different now?"

He shook his head. "No, I mean, I have living relatives! I had a baby brother! I found my sister! She's living with North!" His joy could be felt to the stars above, as he tumbled around, shouting in pure happiness. "That's why I'm going back to Burgess tonight. I have to tell Jamie and Sophie, and the two of them and E.B. are gonna come and live at the Pole! And we're gonna be a big happy family! Isn't it great?"

The wind whipped faster and tighter around her travel companion, in part to give him a hug and partly to make sure that his antics didn't cause him to get hurt. She truly was happy for him and that he had this next part of his life open up to him. "That is wonderful, dearest." She continued to carry him towards his best friend and shared in his joy.

In Burgess, there were few lights on, but there was only one that was on because its owner couldn't sleep. Sophie Bennett-Merlini was wide awake and sitting on a small window seat in her bedroom watching the moon rise in the sky. "Good evening, Manny. Can you tell me what the Guardians are up to tonight?"

She was met with silence as always, but it never stopped her from asking anyway. Absently, she walked around her room as she rubbed her swollen stomach and thought about her daughter growing inside her. "Ivy Lynne, when will I get to see you?"

"You picked out a name already?" a voice asked from the window seat behind her.

Sophie whipped around, her long blonde hair swinging, as she faced the newcomer. "Jack!"

He stood up to give her a gentle hug and kiss on the forehead. "Hey, Sophie, I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, Jack! Why are you here so late? Is everything alright?" She looked worried, thinking that something had happened to one of the Guardians that looked out for her so well.

"No, Sophie, everything is great!" his signature smile, which really hadn't been seen in several years, firmly in place on his lips. "I just have some really important things to tell you and Jamie. So when did you pick out a name?"

"Last night. I was thinking about when she'll be born and what kinds of springy summery names I could think of."

"When will she be here?"

"The end of May. May 27 is her due date. I decided to name her Ivy. What do you think?"

He hugged the young woman close. "I think that's perfect. But now, I really have some important things to say about a lot of things. Ready?" She nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna go make sure that Jamie is up and I'll meet you downstairs in a couple minutes."

She did as requested and went down the stairs and into the kitchen to wait for two of the most important men in her life to hurry up. As she waited, she began to make herself some hot chocolate and talk to the little girl that everyone was waiting on.

At the same time as all of that, a very stealthy Jack Frost snuck into his best friend's bedroom and crept up on the sleeping form of Jamie Bennett. Snowball in hand, Jack inched closer, remembering to avoid all the boards that creaked from old age and held his hand up over the man's sleeping face. Ever so gently, the teen spirit opened his hand and let the frozen treat smack Jamie in the face and began cackling with laughter.

Spluttering awake, Jamie turned to glare at his oldest friend. "What was that for?"

Still choking on his giggles, Jack began to tell him why he was coldly woken up in the middle of the night. "I— I have to tell—" He stopped to try and get his breathing under control, but it was difficult, so the spirit chose to take as deep a breath as he could and get it all out in one breath. "Ihavesomereallyimportantthin gstotellyouandSophiesoyounee dtogetupsoIcantellyou!"

"Okay, okay, you could've just told me that to wake me up, instead of the snowball, you know. But I'm up. Where's Sophie?"

"Downstairs in the kitchen, I believe. It's really important, so you gotta come and listen."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Jack. Let's go."

The two boys made their way down to where Sophie was waiting with her hot chocolate and talking to her daughter at the table and sat down to join her. When they were both comfortable, she decided to see what had their friend so excited tonight. "Alright, Jack, tell us, what is so important that you had me come down stairs?"

"Yeah, man, and why you woke me up with a snowball to the face?!"

Sophie glanced back and forth between her grinning friend and her damp, tired, older brother before giggling. "How long will you keep using the snowball to wake him up?"

Jack shrugged, "Until it stops working, I guess, but seeing as I don't think that will happen, probably never." He grinned mischievously at the two of them. "Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that I found my sister! She's alive!"

The Bennett siblings' mouths dropped open. Both knew the story of how he had died and that it was nearly three and a half centuries ago, but nobody was ever able to find out what had happened to the rest of Jack's family.

"Wait, what do you mean 'alive'?" Jamie asked.

"Just what I said. Well, I suppose 'alive' really isn't the right word, but she is a spirit. She wouldn't tell me of what though. But she's alive, and I got to see her, and she told me that we had a brother named Aaron and that he had four kids of his own, and that his second son was named Lucas. And he went on to have a family and then one of Lucas' sons married a lady and they had a daughter and she married a man with the last name Bennett…" Jack let that little bit sink in with his friends… no, his family… before continuing. "And I found out that I have living relatives!"

Jamie and Sophie looked at each other as realization sunk in and they looked back at the young Guardian. "Did you say Bennett?" Sophie asked, her voice shaking with emotion.

Jack nodded. "Sure did!"

"Where do these Bennetts live?" Jamie questioned. Surely there must be hundreds, if not thousands of Bennetts in the world, and that's if the family name stayed Bennett.

"This house…" Jack's smile grew bigger until Jamie and Sophie thought that it would break his face in two.

"You mean…?"

"We're related to you?"

"You sure are…!" Jack's happiness was so addicting that the siblings couldn't help but be caught up in it. They weren't alone after all. Not only did they have each other, and their children, but now they had Jack and his sister, who were a distant uncle and aunt. "Oh, but that's not all… North and his wife want the three of you to move to the North Pole with us."

Sophie paused for a moment at these words. "What about everything here?"

"Are you saying that you don't want to go?" Jack asked, a little sad that they might turn down the offer.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all! I just want to know if we'll still have things like the house and if we'd be able to come and visit friends and such. What about Ivy and Ethyn's schooling?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, they said that you could keep the house for as long as you want for vacations and visits and things like that. As for the kids going to school, I'm sure that we can figure something out, okay?" He looked back and forth between them as he waited for his answer.

"I'm in. There's nothing left here for us, so sure," Jamie said softly.

"What do you mean there's nothing left here? What about your job?"

Jamie sighed. He knew this would come up sooner or later. "I lost my job two weeks ago. I wasn't going to tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I've been going to interviews for other jobs every day and I've been doing little odd jobs when I can get them, but so far, nothing permanent has come up." This wasn't the right time or way to tell her that they are walking a fine line, but it was the first simple opportunity and he took it.

Sophie wrapped her arms around her brother's shoulders. "It's okay, Jamie. You're right that there isn't anything left here for us. So I'm in." Lifting her green eyes up to meet Jack's bright blue ones, "When do we move in?"

Jack jumped up and spun around with his fist in the air. "Whoohoo! North said that you guys could move in after Easter, that way you'd have time to get everything packed up and say goodbyes and everything."

"Sounds good," Sophie said.

Jamie opened his mouth to say something when the sound of breaking glass distracted everyone from the happy conversation that they were just having. "What was that?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." As he moved closer to the door, he found himself getting very weak and very warm. Quickly, his brain and his body sorted through the clues and realized that the house was burning. "Fire!"

* * *

Wow, I really didn't mean to end it there, but I wanted to get this up. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by the weekend, but don't hold me to that one. I'm going to start writing the Valentine's Day story for my Holiday Series sometime on the 13th and get that posted. I will eventually get "New Year's Surprise" and "Groundhog's Trouble" done, I just need the motivation to actually write them.

But anyway, because I left this on a cliffy, I'm gonna go hide in cave until Chapter 5 is finished... hehehe... Anyway!

I love you all for sticking with me on this...

Always,

~Nox!


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